Asphodelus (original) (raw)

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Flowering genus in family Asphodelaceae

Asphodelus
White asphodel (Asphodelus albus)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asphodelaceae
Subfamily: Asphodeloideae
Genus: AsphodelusL.
Synonyms[1]
Asphodeloides Moench Clausonia Pomel Verinea Pomel Gethosyne Salisb. Ophioprason Salisb. Glyphosperma S.Watson

Asphodelus ramosus

Asphodelus is a genus of mainly perennial flowering plants in the asphodel family Asphodelaceae[2] that was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. The genus was formerly included in the lily family (Liliaceae).[3] The genus is native to temperate Europe (mostly the south of Europe),[4] the Mediterranean, Africa, the Middle East, and the Indian Subcontinent, and some species have been introduced to, and are now naturalized in, other places such as New Zealand, Australia, Mexico and southwestern United States.[1][5] Many asphodels are popular garden plants, which grow in well-drained soils with abundant natural light.

The plants are hardy herbaceous perennials with narrow tufted radical leaves and an elongated stem bearing a handsome spike of white or yellow flowers. Asphodelus albus and A. fistulosus have white flowers and grow from 45 to 60 centimetres (1+1⁄2–2 ft) high; A. ramosus is a larger plant, the large white flowers of which have a reddish-brown line in the middle of each segment.

The genus name is derived from the Greek ἀσφόδελος asphodelos.[6][7]

There are 16 species in the genus.[8]

Species[1]

  1. Asphodelus acaulis Desf. – Branched asphodel – Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia
  2. Asphodelus aestivus Brot. – Summer asphodel, also known as Common asphodel and Silver rod – Western Mediterranean (mainly Portugal and Spain)
  3. Asphodelus albus Mill. – White asphodel, also known as Rimmed lichen – Mediterranean
  4. Asphodelus ayardii Jahand. & Maire – France, Spain, Italy, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Canary Islands
  5. Asphodelus bakeri Breistr. – Western Himalayas of northern India, northern Pakistan, etc.
  6. Asphodelus bento-rainhae P.Silva – Spain, Portugal
  7. Asphodelus cerasiferus J.Gay – France, Spain, Sardinia, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia
  8. Asphodelus fistulosus L. – Onion-leaved asphodel, also known as Onionweed – Mediterranean (naturalized in New Zealand, Mexico, southwestern United States, etc.)
  9. Asphodelus gracilis Braun-Blanq. & Maire – Morocco
  10. Asphodelus lusitanicus Cout. – Spain, Portugal
  11. Asphodelus macrocarpus Parl. – Mediterranean
  12. Asphodelus ramosus L. – Branched asphodel – southern Europe, northern Africa, the Middle East and Canary Islands
  13. Asphodelus refractus Boiss. – North Africa and Arabian Peninsula from Mauritania & Morocco to Saudi Arabia
  14. Asphodelus roseus Humbert & Maire – Spain, Morocco
  15. Asphodelus serotinus Wolley-Dod – Spain, Portugal
  16. Asphodelus tenuifolius Cav. – Southeast Europe and northern Africa from the Mediterranean south to Mali, Chad, Sudan, Somalia; south-central Asia from Caucasus to India
  17. Asphodelus viscidulus Boiss. – North Africa, Middle East, Arabian Peninsula

Formerly included

The leaves[_clarification needed_] are used to wrap burrata, an Italian cheese. The leaves and the cheese last about the same time, three or four days, and thus fresh leaves are a sign of a fresh cheese, while dried out leaves indicate that the cheese is past its prime.[9]

In Greek legend the asphodel is one of the most famous of the plants connected with the dead and the underworld. Homer describes it as covering the great meadow (ἀσφόδελος λειμών), the haunt of the dead. It was planted on graves, and is often connected with Persephone, who appears crowned with a garland of asphodels. [_citation needed_] Its general connection with death is due no doubt to the greyish colour of its leaves and its yellowish flowers, which suggest the gloom of the underworld and the pallor of death. The roots were eaten by the poorer Greeks; hence such food was thought good enough for the shades.[_citation needed_] The asphodel was also supposed to be a remedy for venomous snake-bites and a specific against sorcery; it was fatal to mice, but preserved pigs from disease. The Libyan nomads made their huts of asphodel stalks.[_citation needed_][10]

The asphodel is mentioned by several poets in connection with the mythology of death, and by association, the afterlife - specifically the Isles of the Blessed and Elysium - part of the ancient Greek concept of the afterlife.

  1. ^ a b c Kew Plants of the World Online
  2. ^ Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (2016). "An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG IV". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 181 (1): 1–20. doi:10.1111/boj.12385.
  3. ^ Bailey, L.H. & E.Z. Bailey. 1976. Hortus Third i–xiv, 1–1290. MacMillan, New York.
  4. ^ "asphodel". Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  5. ^ Altervista Flora Italiana, genere Asphodelus includes photos plus European distribution maps
  6. ^ Harper, Douglas. "asphodel". Online Etymology Dictionary.
  7. ^ ἀσφόδελος. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project.
  8. ^ Lifante, Z. Díaz (1996). "Pollen morphology ofAsphodelusL. (Asphodelaceae): Taxonomic and phylogenetic inferences at the infrageneric level". Grana. 35 (1): 24–32. Bibcode:1996Grana..35...24L. doi:10.1080/00173139609430497.
  9. ^ Roberts, Genevieve (2 March 2011). "Burrata: Britain's new Big cheese". The Independent. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  10. ^ Herodotus (2015). The Histories. Penguin Books. pp. Book 4 paragraph 190. ISBN 978-0-14-310754-5.
  11. ^ Hes.Works and Days.40-41.
  12. ^ The Odyssey, translated by Robert Fagels
  13. ^ Shorter Oxford English dictionary, 6th ed. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. 2007. p. 3804. ISBN 978-0199206872.